Grave of the Fireflies is
probably the greatest animated film you have never seen. Cited by
Roger Ebert as one of the greatest war films ever made, it lacks
traditional special effects, grand vistas and the usual Hollywood
celebrity voices. But the film's power is undeniable.

Grave of the Fireflies is set
near the end of World War II, as the American Air Force relentlessly
firebombs the country of Japan, city by city, in an attempt to
demoralize the populace into surrender. When the bombs get too
close, young Seita begins burying his families belongings in the
yard for safe keeping. Then he picks up his baby sister, Setsuko,
strapping her onto his back just as their home is hit by a
firebomb... with their mother still inside. Frightened and confused,
Seita makes his way through the abandoned streets and into the mass
exodus on the outskirts of town. When the attack has finally ended,
Seita returns to find that their mother is dead, and that he and
Setsuko are alone. What follows is a painful struggle for survival
in the harshest conditions... and a shining testament to the
enduring power of love and the Human spirit.

Originally released on DVD in early 1998, Grave
of the Fireflies then sported a murky laserdisc rehash
transfer and some of the slowest menus ever constructed. Thankfully,
a complete Japanese special edition done was done in 2000. Using
this same material, Central Park Media has delivered the most
definitive DVD edition we're likely to see.

The new 16:9 transfer procured from Japan exhibits none of the
annoyances that plagued the earlier release. Instead, rich hand
drawn detail oozes from every frame. One thing to note is that
unlike many more recent anime titles, Grave
appears to have been telecined as a live action film rather than an
animated feature. What does this mean? It gives the film weight - a
more somber tone than would otherwise exist. There are a few
instances where edge enhancement haloing does rear its ugly head
(more on that later), but otherwise this is absolutely beautiful
anamorphic widescreen video.

The Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo mix is also very nice for the
most part. There appears to be some source issues occasionally, but
I would guess that has to do with problems with the master recording
rather than anything related to the DVD production. On the dubbed
English DD 2.0 side, given that the elements are about ten years
younger, the audio is crisp and clean. In all honesty, however, even
if you watch everything else dubbed, please don't ruin the original
experience of this film by viewing it with the English audio. For a
film of this dramatic caliber, there are so many subtle nuances
you're denying yourself if you don't listen to it in the original
language (with English subtitles). Give the original Japanese a
shot, just this once. I think you'll be glad you did.

The extras on this DVD are also a pleasant experience. For one
thing, there is a whole other way to view this film! Available at
any time while watching the feature, on an alternate angle as per
Studio Ghibli tradition, is the "Leica reel" or timed
storyboards for the entire film. These run concurrent with the final
film's scenes. The storyboard option is well implemented, with only
slight moire and other NTSC artifacting on the stills. It's a fine
presentation and a fascinating way to view the film once you're
familiar with it.

Starting off Disc Two is a video interview with Roger Ebert about
this film. Ebert has long been a champion of anime in general, and
especially Grave, even going
so far as to include it on his "Ignored Films" list. Ebert
does a fairly thorough job of comparing Takahata's style to that of
other Japanese film masters, as well as commenting on the areas he
find particularly moving. Next up, Professors Theodore and Haruko
Cook providing historical perspective on the film (via a
featurette), explaining attitudes on both sides of the conflict.
Unfortunately, this segment suffers from a myriad of audio
interference that was only discovered after the tapes were back at
the studio. Rather than pulling the segment, CPM chose to include it
despite the blemishes... a smart move, as there's a lot of great
information here.

There is a DVNR Demonstration
featurette, which really talks more about the complete restoration
process, although it does cover the Digital Video Noise Reduction
process itself, and how it was used to improve image quality. It's
tad fluffy, but in one segment as the video is going through the
final stages before compression, the technician says, "Now,
let's turn up the sharpness..." (NNNOOOOOOO!!!!!). The last
major featurette is a 20-minute interview with director Isao
Takahata, that was originally seen on the Japanese DVD. Takahata is
truly a master of his medium, and he talks about everything from how
he first found this project to how they decided to pair it with My
Neighbor Totoro. I only wish Miyazaki-sensei would share
his thoughts in such detail! If you get nothing else out of this
segment at all, you can still admire all of the interior shots of
Studio Ghibli (and the cool silver rack of players for virtually
every single home video format known to man). Rounding out the
extras are biographies for author Akiyuki Nosaka and Isao Takahata,
a design gallery, bonus storyboards for scenes that weren't included
in the final film, the U.S. and Japanese trailers and bonus trailers
for other anime available from Central Park.

Grave of the Fireflies was
originally released as a double feature with Hayao Miyazaki's My
Neighbor Totoro, which was an interesting pairing to say
the least. First you're brought down to the dark depths of despair
with this film, and then you're lifted into the light of joy by Totoro.
I can see that this probably worked extremely well as a complete
theatrical experience. For that reason alone, it's a shame that a
decent version of Totoro will
not be available to U.S. consumers until at least 2004 (when Disney
gets the rights). Still, without the pick-me-up of Totoro
to soften the blow, Grave of the
Fireflies actually resonates more deeply in the viewer's
heart.

Make no mistake, director Takahata-san has not made a film with
angry, anti-American undertones (which would seem appropriate in
many ways) like the excellent Hadashi no
Gen (a.k.a. Barefoot Gen).
Instead, Grave of the Fireflies
is a hauntingly beautiful film without a clear enemy, outside of the
arrogance of youth and the curse of hunger, two universal themes
that will leave any audience asking simply, "Why?" What
more could any war film hope to accomplish?